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Wauwatosa's Government Affairs Committee's Sept. 11 meeting was moved to the City Council Chambers to handle the crowd of people from both sides of a proposed resolution on what steps should be taken if the city considers becoming a sanctuary city. C.T. Kruger/Now News Group

Wauwatosa Alderman Matthew Stippich, who led the city's Government Affairs Committee meeting on Sept. 11, had to remind the audience to be courteous of those speaking so both sides of the controversial sanctuary city proposal could be heard. C.T. Kruger/Now News Group

Wauwatosa resident Carmen Ortiz spoke in favor of a controversial proposal to consider a resolution on what steps would be taken if Wauwatosa is to consider becoming a sanctuary city. The issue brought out a huge crowd at Wauwatosa's Government Affairs Committee on Sept. 11. C.T. Kruger/Now News Group

Wauwatosa Police Chief Barry Weber listens to comments on a controversial proposal to consider a resolution on what steps would be taken if Wauwatosa is to consider becoming a sanctuary city. The issue was before Wauwatosa's Government Affairs Committee on Sept. 11. C.T. Kruger/Now News Group

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Wauwatosa's Government Affairs Committee's Sept. 11 meeting was moved to the City Council Chambers to handle the crowd of people from both sides of a proposed resolution on what steps should be taken if the city considers becoming a sanctuary city.(Photo: C.T. Kruger/Now News Group)Buy Photo

A recommendation that Wauwatosa adopt a sanctuary city ordinance was denied on a 7-1 vote, following a spirited debate that lasted over two hours before a standing-room-only crowd at city hall on Tuesday, Sept. 11.

The timing of the Governmental Affairs Committee meeting didn't go unnoticed. While the date wasn't intentionally set by city officials, some of the speakers invoked Sept. 11, the anniversary of the attacks that took nearly 3,000 lives 17 years ago in lower Manhattan, at the Pentagon and in western Pennsylvania.

Opponents feared that declaring the city a sanctuary city might increase crime, such as car thefts, robberies and break-ins. Supporters, however, said the proposal makes a statement that Tosa continues to strive to be a welcoming and inclusive place where everyone feels safe.

During the meeting, Wauwatosa Police Chief Barry Weber made it clear he was opposed to the ordinance, because it would tie the hands of his officers. He said that if it passed, he would encourage his officers not to follow it.

"To say we would limit cooperating with the federal government is ridiculous and that is not going to happen," Weber said.

But there was a general sense of confusion and division over what the proposal meant.

The term "sanctuary city" describes communities that adopted a range of policies protecting the nation's 11 million undocumented immigrants from deportation. Some cities — including San Francisco, Chicago and New York — proudly declare themselves sanctuaries and have enacted policies that prohibit municipal employees from turning over residents or information on them to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to a USA Today report.

Alderwoman Heather Kuhl, who was elected in April, proposed what is now calling a "safe city" ordinance. She said the resolution would require that, should current or future police administration decide, by choice or mandate, to participate in any federal immigration program, a majority council vote would be required.

She said the resolution would not restrict the department’s ability to maintain what she called the excellent level of community service and protection they provide today.

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Wauwatosa Police Chief Barry Weber listens to comments on a controversial proposal to consider a resolution on what steps would be taken if Wauwatosa is to consider becoming a sanctuary city. The issue was before Wauwatosa's Government Affairs Committee on Sept. 11.(Photo: C.T. Kruger/Now News Group)

Wauwatosa chief responds

Weber said in his 26 years in law enforcement there was never a point when officers asked the immigration status while doing a traffic stop. When Wauwatosa police stop someone for a possible serious felony charge and it is discovered they are here illegally, police will contact immigration if need be.

"We are not the jurisdiction that is going to allow criminal elements to stay in our city," Weber said.

He added Wauwatosa is a welcoming and diverse community, contrary to what some people may think.

Weber took exception to the wording of the ordinance that sounded like his department wasn't doing its job and not treating everyone (documented citizen or not) with dignity and respect.

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It’s difficult to speak in absolutes when discussing sanctuary cities, because there is no formal definition.
Ginny Beagan, Florida Today

He said he department cooperates with the federal government through participation in the high-intensity drug trafficking administration, Secret Service financial crimes unit, and FBI violent-gang crimes task force.

Weber held up a booklet of the U.S. Constitution and stated Wauwatosa Police's powers are provided by it. His statement was met with loud applause.

He said the city can pass the proposal, but if he gets a person who he thinks is guilty of a serious crime and is not documented, he will not follow the ordinance. If a person takes the steps to file charges with the Police and Fire Commission to have Weber removed, he will take it to a higher court.

"I bet I will prevail because we cooperate with the federal government," Weber said.

Weber acknowledged the topic is an emotional one for the community and is not opposed to discussion. However, he questioned why a topic like this needs to be in an ordinance, which wouldn't change how he enforces the law.

"We (police) do the right things, at the right time, for the right reasons, in the right way. This is a mantra in our organization and will continue," he said.

Kuhl said she was disappointed the chief was not behind this. She said this resolution would not change the department’s power to arrest and keep dangerous criminals off of the streets. If someone commits a crime in Wauwatosa, they will still be arrested, charged and prosecuted as the law allows, she said.

She said the resolution simply requires that, if circumstances change, and the current or future police chief finds cause to begin participating in these or any other immigration programs, the city would weigh the financial and social costs of those programs and make that decision as a community.

If the federal government continues to redefine the parameters of what it means to be a “legal” immigrant, the probability that this will become an issue Wauwatosa must address continues to increase, she said, so the city needs to be pro-active.

"Ultimately we have one thing in common and that is the love for our community and wanting it to the best that it can be," Kuhl said.

Alderman Jason Kofroth said it is not the committee's place, as a body of local elected officials, to discuss federal issues. He said it causes divisiveness and separates the community.

Kofroth added the city should not being standing in the way of cooperation with other law enforcement entities nor telling police officers what to do operationally.

"That it is the chief's job and it why we hired him. It isn't our job to micro manage what he is doing on a day to day basis," Kofroth said.

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Alderwoman Heather Kuhl outlines a proposal to consider designating Wauwatosa as a safe city during the Wauwatosa's Government Affairs Committee on Sept. 11.(Photo: C.T. Kruger/Now News Group)

Listening to each other

Resident Bruce Vandertie spoke of his son who is a Milwaukee County Sheriff's deputy and how he worries every day about him, and he said the tragic events on Sept. 11 of 2001 tell us that cooperation between all levels of law enforcement is imperative.

People who are involved in immigration are looking for those people who are most dangerous to society. Vandertie said the city can't have an overall policy that allows everyone to be protected in a community. He said residents have to be protected from dangerous criminals.

"If you aren't willing to do that or recognize that, I guess I take it personally. You are putting my son in danger," Vandertie said.

Jenny Hoag, a psychologist at in the MACC Fund Center at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, said she has witnessed how federal immigration deportation policies affect children and families.

Parents are scared to ask for help in hospitals and schools for fear this will raise alarm and put them at risk of deportation (despite doing nothing illegal). She also said she worked with children undergoing cancer treatment learning that a parent has been detained and is awaiting deportation.

"Every resident of Wauwatosa should feel safe and welcome. No one should have to live in fear," she said.

In Hoag's opinion, safe cities or sanctuary communities are often safer and have lower levels of crime because they facilitate trust between undocumented immigrants and law enforcement.

Resident Carmen Ortiz said resident need protection from racial profiling. Ortiz said that when people knock on her door and hear her accent, they assume she doesn't live in the home, and ask for the owner.

Ortiz stated designating a safe city is a simple request because people should be treated with dignity and respect, and that includes not only residents but those who come here to take care of children, resident's homes and the elderly.

Resident Mike Brock said no matter which side a person stands on, what was happening at the meeting is considered a democracy. Brock said the only way to solve problems is through discussion and discourse.

"We have to listen to each other," he said.

Although the failure of the motion to pass is significant, ultimately, the Common Council will meet to discuss the recommendation at its next meeting. That meeting is Sept. 18.

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